What’s your junk worth? Average home could contain more than £7,000 in collectables

Vinyl records are still a favourite with many Brits

Published:06:00Sunday 24 January 2016

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More than £7,000 worth of collectable items are stored in the average home, according to new research.

The survey found that the appetite for collectors’ items is at an all time high with an average of 140 hours a year now spent on collecting items such as badges, coins, books and vinyl records.

Seven out of ten people class themselves as a collector, according to the research, and households contain an average of £7,176 worth of collectable items.

Despite spending an average of £287 a year on their hobby, 44 per cent prefer to keep their obsession hidden well away.

The research, commissioned by Ikea to mark their new exhibition celebrating collectables, found that four out of 10 even dedicate entire rooms to house their treasures.

Almost two-thirds of people still collect books or CDs, showing that the rise of all kinds of new technologies hasn’t dampened everyone’s love for traditional entertainment.

The study also found that 15 per cent lost their collections after a family member threw the items away.

Star Wars toys and annuals make up the two most missed items.

And an estimated seven million people in the UK are thought to collect stamps.

The research too reveals that collectors are found to have varying levels of success with the opposite sex. While 15 per cent admit displaying their collections to impress, the bookshelf is something of a surprising turn-on with two out of 10 finding them attractive.

Collecting books, particularly classics, is seen as ten times more desirable than those that collect teddies, games and figurines.

Myriam Ruffo, head of storage at Ikea, said: “More than seven out of 10 Brits class themselves as collectors yet almost half of us hide our collections away - something we at Ikea believe is a crying shame.

“We are big believers in the joy of storage and how products can help encourage people to show-off their passions, celebrating the things they love - elevating them to their rightful place as a piece of art in their home as easily as finding the right shelving for our books or the right cabinet for our games.”